Zacks Investment Management Decreases Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Zacks Investment Management lowered its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 95.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,686 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 60,066 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management's holdings in Ecolab were worth $629,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Ecolab by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,149,744 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $5,658,768,000 after buying an additional 105,289 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,273,277 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,231,873,000 after acquiring an additional 91,475 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in Ecolab by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,995,817 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $936,300,000 after purchasing an additional 304,478 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,993,504 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $701,438,000 after acquiring an additional 165,949 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi increased its position in Ecolab by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,499,757 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $586,309,000 after buying an additional 83,328 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ECL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Argus upgraded Ecolab to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $240.00 price target (down previously from $265.00) on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Ecolab from $305.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $282.33.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total transaction of $2,898,543.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,744 shares in the company, valued at $4,202,860.80. This trade represents a 40.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $264.51 per share, with a total value of $105,804.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 18,767 shares in the company, valued at $4,964,059.17. This represents a 2.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE ECL traded up $1.19 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $238.00. The stock had a trading volume of 1,093,641 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,148,402. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $218.19 and a 52-week high of $273.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market cap of $67.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $252.05 and a 200 day moving average of $248.35.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. Sell-side analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab's payout ratio is currently 35.23%.

Ecolab Company Profile

Ecolab Inc provides water, hygiene, and infection prevention solutions and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Global Industrial; Global Institutional & Specialty; and Global Healthcare & Life Sciences. The Global Industrial segment offers water treatment and process applications, and cleaning and sanitizing solutions to manufacturing, food and beverage processing, transportation, chemical, metals and mining, power generation, pulp and paper, commercial laundry, petroleum, refining, and petrochemical industries.